David's CHS 202 Blog - Clemson University

It's been awhile (unfortunately) since I've posted. First off, I have to say, Ray Kurzweil's book, which we are reading in class now - The Age of Spiritual Machines - kicks some serious butt. It's a great read with some interesting propositions (even if a lot of them are a bit extreme or hard to understand). Kurzweil explains some interesting phenomena in an easy to understand way...

One such example of his ability to explain deals with a subject I've often been intrigued by and yet could not for the life of me explain my thoughts on it. I quote Kurzweil here for your benefit:
"Human perception of color is more complicated than mere detection of electromagnetic frequencies, and we still do not fully understand it. Yet even if we had a fully satisfactory theory of our mental process, it would not convey the subjective experience of redness or yellowness. I find language inadequate for expressing my experience of redness...So how do I know that you experience the same thing when you talk about redness? Perhaps you experience red the way I experience blue, and vice versa. How can we test our assumptions that we experience these qualities the same way?"
So perhaps the color of this blog text, which you and I both call 'black' actually looks different to both of us...perhaps to you, the reader, it looks like the color I call blue, but you've been taught from an early age to call it black. On the other hand, while it is what I've always been told to call black, the color itself looks different to you. Make any sense? It's complicated stuff, but it's really interesting if you're able to wrap your mind around it!

Part of the reason why it affects me so much is my severe hearing impairment. I have been fascinated by the idea of what it may be like to hear fully and normally, just like everyone out there who does not require a hearing aid (like me) as an assistive listening device. I wonder sometimes if my perception of sounds are different than your perception of sounds. I have also always wondered what it would be like to hear 'normally' for a day...would it be so radically different that it takes me time to get adjusted to the addition of new frequencies of sound that I've never been able to hear before? Hmm...

Think about it, it's crazy!

Now we're getting to the meat of this class! After reading chapter 6 in our latest book, Professor Mack challenged us to divide in groups and discuss the pros and cons of uploading our minds to a computer hard drive. She wanted us to do this from three points of view:
1. scientific/logical argumentation (disembodied)
2. argument based upon opinion and basic belief
3. argument based upon our experience as humans with bodies

My group was charged with the task p.o.v. number 3. Rather than take one side of the issue, we brainstormed a number of different pros and cons for each side of the argument (for uploading our brains and not). Here are some of our ideas discussed in our individual group as well as our entire class...hopefully they will provoke your own thoughts on this incredibly interesting subject:

Pros of uploading our minds to computers
1. we would no longer have to feel bodily pain
2. our minds can continue to function long after our bodies have worn down (we came up with this point after discussing Ray Kurzweil's idea that our minds are nothing short of human software running on the hardware that is the human body. Kurzweil commented that the human body was not a particularly robust machine, and that uploading our minds to a computer would allow us to function in a body that is much stronger and functional for a longer-lasting amount of time)
3. computer could do heavy thinking/homework/etc while our bodies go out to seek physical pleasure, whether it be from watching T.V., playing sports, etc.
4. people with debilitating injuries or physical handicaps/paralyzation can use this as a last resort to continue to function without a body
5. your brain is still your brain, no one can access it or know its contents unless you should choose to share/divulge it with others

Cons of uploading our minds to computers
1. why would anyone want to live forever?
2. living forever means life would lose much of its special meaning
3. robotic bodies or computers could physically malfunction beyond our control (with bodies, we can physically go to the doctor or take a certain medicine, etc.) ...we may be able to fix internal problems, such as viruses, but would need another person or device to fix our hardware problems
4. a virus could permanently wipe out our memory on the hard drive (but then again, so could Alzheimer's)
5. connection to a 'world brain' or all the other brains uploaded on a computer could be access to more information than our brains are ready for...access to all points of view...when in a body, the mind/brain can only access information that the body allows it to access (by taking it to a certain section inthe library or conversing with certain people)...point of view could potentially be extinguished, making us all essentially the same software
6. hacking...no privacy for your brain when it's connected to a modem

These are only some of the ideas addressed in our class. Hope it piqued your interest, and I'll definitely post some more in the future on this subject. Have a nice day! I'm off to study for a calculus quiz! Whoohoo!

Haven't posted in awhile, I know...we just recently had a test and have just begun immersing ourselves in another book, Small Pieces Loosely Joined. Soon as we get into the book and have some conversations arising...I'll be sure to post some of my thoughts.

Also today, we received word that we should begin preparing our topic and sources for our term paper, which is coming up quickly! Agh!